Oh, you're just gonna love this! EMS emailed me to tell me my order shipped...4 days after I received it!

[MichaelD]

Apparently, stupidity knows no boundaries. Remember this thread? Of course you do. Most of you responded. Thanks. Well, tonight I got an email from EMSComputing. "Your order has shipped!" Really? No freakin' kidding. But wait; remember that I got the case fans four days ago and the case two days ago. So, two different shipments, but yet they only provided me one tracking number tonight. They actually have the nuts to tell me "in an effort to reduce the time you wait, your order may ship in more than one box." Really? I would've never guessed.

I did tell you guys I was going to email them and let them know about how badly my case box was smashed. I was going to that this weekend, when I had time to write a long letter. But hearing from them tonight just "inspired me." Here's what I wrote them. I attached their email to me (minus the CC card info! ) so you can see for yourselves.


To whom it may concern,

This is interesting. Very interesting; how I get a "your order has shipped confirmation email" two days after I received box two, and four days after I received box one, is beyond me. So beyond me, that I'll never purchase a single thing from EMSComputing ever again. I've got an earful for your sorry excuse for an E-business.

For some strange reason, you shipped my case fans from somewhere in Texas, and my case from Florida three days later. That, in and of itself, isn't a problem. Lots of businesses have more than one shipping location. But, I didn't receive a confirmation email when either order shipped. You obviously have my email since I received both the email attached below as well as the "we've received your order" initial email. But hey, stuff happens; right? You betcha it does; and it seems to happen a whole lot w/your company.

But wait! It gets better. Your online order tracking app? It stinks. Fire your webmaster because it doesn't work.
Every time I logged in and put in my order number, the correct order would come up, but it would tell me "there are no tracking numbers available for this order." Finally, after a week of waiting I call your customer service number. I get told "hmm, that's strange; your order has shipped already." Me: Huh? I was given a tracking number. Sure enough, the very next day I got box one. One little box with the two case fans. Where the heck is my case? No mention on the PO that "case will be shipped separately" or words to that effect. Again I have to call customer service and it takes them 10 minutes to say "uh, it wasn't shipped with the fans." Oh really? I never would've guessed that, since that's reason I'm calling in the first place! So, I get another tracking number.

Two days ago, my case was delivered. In one piece. A remarkable feat, since it's apparent that the entire local UPS delivery crew played Ice Hockey and used my case as a puck. The box was bashed, smashed and scraped. I'm not talking "little dents." I'm talking more like "hey, watch me jump up and down on this thing!" More? OK. The box had four holes in it big enough to stick two fingers thru. The top Styrofoam piece was broken into 4 or 5 pieces (can't remember...I threw them away since they were getting Styrofoam pieces all over my living room)

Incredibly, the case had zero damages. Don't take this as a compliment and don't you dare tell me that "we knew that; we ship them that way all the time." You guys got lucky, because I would've RMA'd it to you COD for the shipping charges and let you take it up w/my attorney. I examined that case under a very bright light looking for something wrong. Not a single scratch. A-freaking-mazing. It's up and running right now. I'm surprised the PS didn't blow as soon as I plugged it in. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong with it. I have my receipt and I will claim it under the warranty if something blows.

I was later informed that it's standard practice in the Computer Parts E-business world to ship large items such as cases and monitors in their original standard packaging. I didn't know this. You could've at the very least, wrapped it in brown paper, so it's not so obvious to the entire world that there's a valuable piece of electronic equipment sitting there. Not everyone lives in the best of apartment complexes or neighborhoods, you know.

You do have the best prices on the web for certain items; but obviously, that comes at the expense of customer service. Or, more accurately, the ABSENCE of it. My entire experience with the customer service aspect of your business was rotten. While they are polite, your telephone operators either aren't bright or they're not provided w/the tools necessary to do business. It shouldn't take 10 minutes to tell me that my order didn't ship. I know that already! That's why I'm calling you. I won't be doing business with you again. But what the heck, why should you care, right? One customer lost, 1,423 more gained today via the Internet, right?

Sincerely,
Michael Dxxxxxxxxx



Dear Michael xxxxxxxxxx:

Thank you for shopping with EMS Computing! Your order has been shipped. We
have provided you with the following link so that you will be able to track
your shipment:

Order number xxxxxxx-xxxxx:

http://wwwapps.ups.com/tracking/tracking.cgi?tracknum=xxxxxxxxxx
CHAS ATX FS 400W P/S SMTPWR 4 5.25 6 3.5 BGE

In an effort to fulfill your order as quickly as possible, EMS Computing
frequently ships individual items in an order from different warehouse
locations. As a result, your order may not come all at once, or in a single
box; in fact, you may receive your selected products in two or more separate
shipments. However, this system is designed to reduce your total wait time,
and will result in no extra charges.

EMS Computing is committed to providing you with the best possible service,
and if we may assist you in any other way, please let us know.

Have a wonderful day, and thank you for shopping EMS Computing!

EMS Computing, Inc.
Customer Service Department
352-374-8400
customer@emscomputing.com
http://www.emscomputing.com/

 

[dave127]

you got the order, didnt u??? it seems like all you do is complain about shipping

 

[MichaelD]

No, I complain about lack of customer service and misinformation as well as lack of information. If you don't like to read my complaints, don't.

 

[GremlinHater]

lol @ dave

Well, some people I suppose don't get it, complaints are real world everyday necessities in improving the quality of today's consumber buying.

EMS Computing deserves complaint for poor management of shipping and tracking.
UPS deserves complaint for poor handling and care.

That is as straight forward as I saw it. No more no less. I'm sure you haven't complained about anything in your life before? Pfff, whatever.

 

[igowerf]

EMS did the same thing to me. I actually emailed them when I didn't receive my tracking number. I got my package the next day along with their reply and my tracking number.

 

[Viper GTS]

MichaelD

I've seen your threads, & frankly you're being an asshole about the whole situation.

Granted, a prompt e-mail with tracking information would have been nice, but your belligerent attitude regarding the case shipping container is completely unwarranted. Though I have never ordered a case online, I may do so in the near future. I have always assumed the cases shipped in the manufacturer's box. There is no reason to assume otherwise.

The abuse of the package almost certainly didn't happen until after the package was shipped. How do you suggest that EMS monitor the condition of your package? Perhaps every package should ship chained to an armed guard who delivers it to you only after a retinal scan to verify ownership? The shipping company is responsible for the package damage, not EMS.

Grow up. And spare online retailers the hassle in the future, buy at B&M stores only. Obviously you can't handle the online experience. Wait... Scratch that, something tells me that CompUSA doesn't want to be sued when the box of your brand new monitor gets damaged during your ride home.

Viper GTS

 

[Adul]

i would complain to ups has well

 

[murdock2525]

Maybe they hire dumbass gameboyzzzzzzzzzz that sit around and play Quake all day instead of working ???????

 

[MichaelD]

ViperGTS,

Hmm. You had a big bowl of Cranky Flakes today. I don't think I'm being an a-hole. I think I'm doing what every consumer who actually gives a damn about their own money should do; complain if you have a legitimate complaint. I KNOW it was UPS that bashed the box. I know, I know...how many times do I have to say that? It is the shippers responsibility to ensure (period.) that the goods that have been paid for in good faith get to there destination in working order, unmolested.

Let's turn the table here, Sir. You're surfing the FS/T forum here at AT. You see that Michael D has "computer part XYZ" for sale at a reasonable price. You contact me. You Western Union/mail it/carrier pigeon me the money. 10 days later, you get the package and it's damaged. You call me and say WTF? I tell you "take it up with UPS." Would you be mad? Yes you would; and rightly so. Granted, my case WASN'T damaged, but by looking at the box, you wouldn't be able to tell. I respect your opinion but stand firm on mine. Good old U.S.A. we can do that, you know. Have a nice evening.

EDIT:

Adul, that's next! Trust me.

 

[sandorski]

Whoah, that's fast delivery!

You should be telling them this, not us. They may have had a glitch or something.

 

[fishingeek]

I'm sorry but I have to agree with Viper 100%. If the case had been broken or you didn't recieve it I would see your point. But to complain about how the box arived and that it is in different packages is asinine. Did you recieve your stuff in a timely manner? So what if you got the email late. Frankly I hope I never have to do any service for you because I doubt you will ever be happy.

 

[MichaelD]

Well, apparently there's a great deal of controversy over me exercising my rights as a consumer. Some of you agree with me and some of you don't. It's all good. It was never my intent to cause stress and strife; I just wanted to share my experiences. Contrary to what some of you may think, I've had plenty of good experiences with online retailers. I'm just the type of person that likes to be kept in the loop. When it comes to my money, I want to know at all times what the status of my order is. Some folks are happy with clicking "purchase now" and then forgetting about it. "When it gets here, it gets here" is not my way of thinking.

To set the record straight, I am merely stating fact:

FACT ONE
I was not kept in the loop concerning my order. I recieved the obligatory "we got your order, here's your order number" email and that's it.

FACT TWO
Their order tracking app doesn't work. I didn't just try it once. I tried it 20 times a day for a week. Not once did it work right. This is not my problem. If something's broken, fix it.

FACT THREE
When I called the customer service, I was polite, had all my info readily available. The rep couldn't even find my order at first, and then told me it shipped. He never said anything about it being shipped in two separate packages. I didn't ask that question because it never came to mind. It's common practice to ship stuff together, no?

FACT FOUR
UPS bashed the box, not EMS. But I stand by my conviction that it is the seller's responsibility to pack things securely. I didn't know that it's common practice to ship big stuff like cases and monitors in their original box. Now I know.

FACT FIVE
I got a "order has shipped" confirmation email 4 days after I'd already received the first box. Their process is broken. Again not my problem.

One other thing, I appreciate a good debate. There are two sides to every story; I'll tell mine and if I feel I'm wrong, I'll admit it. Either in whole or in part. I don't think name-calling is appropriate nor warranted in this situation. If you need to cuss at someone, look in the mirror and knock yourself out.

If you feel I'm being a jerk about this, fine, I respect your opinion. But I lose respect when folks just shoot from the hip and attack a person's character w/o knowing him/her or the whole story.

That said and done, I'll close this issue now. I'll keep my email and pictures that UPS is gonna get to myself. I really like these forums and I like all you guys too. Have a nice evening.

 

[Daniel]

I've gotten that same sort of shipping email from many places, usually buy.com I think where I will get the package fast then a few days later get a tracking email, if it comes to me I'm not really too worried about it.

 

[randypj]

OK....I won't attack your character.

IMO...give it a rest. Do what you will with the vendor/UPS. In the end, it's your decision.

Yes, I have had net vendor problems and B&M vendor problems, and have taken complaints all the way. I may have one rant....but then I just do it and gut it up. Check my rant on ResellerRatings about CompUGeeks if you want I wouldn't bother if I were you).
--Randy

 

[LukFilm]

MichaelD, I think you need to take a chill pill. I agree with Viper and others, you are a bit of an aggravation I've read couple of your threads and in no way should you be upset as much as you are. Take it up to UPS and don't complain to the company about it when they have NOTHING to do with it. Regarding customer service, you can complain about to them, that's it. And I don't think receiving tracking number late is such a big deal. Happens with buy.com all the time and I've never thought about complaining about that. As long as I have my product. Now, take these threads to OT, this is GENERAL HARDWARE FORUM.

 

[gygheyzeus]

The funny thing is how big of an impact on EMS' business this thread *could* have. I mean, if 300 of us read this thread, and just 60% of us decide "I'll never buy from them", that's a lot lost business. Especially in these times of economic slow down.

 

[mikef208]

The shipping part is not EMS's problem. If they packaged that case in the best packaging in the world, and the truck it was in got hit by a Nuke, then the package is gonna be wasted. EMS shipped the package in a suitable packaging material, if the box was banged up, or if the contents were damaged, then your beef is with UPS.

I would like to add a side note though. I recenttly worked for UPS, and while i can say a lot of the smaller lighter boxes are thrown around quite a bit, a big 30 plus pound box is not going to be tossed around to much, they usually end up at the bottom of a wall, the problem being with the fact that severl hundered pounds of boxes are then stacked on top of it, then it has to be transported several hundred miles. It is quite likely that any damage sustained by a box that big is from the actaul shipping of the box, not the people that handled it during shipping. I think UPS needs to put more effort in finding less damaging transportation methods.

 

[Midnight Rambler]

Definitely wrong Forum, and not anything earthshattering or new when it comes to UPS service. I haven't received a single UPS package in the last 2 years that wasn't trashed in some way or the other. And every single printer, scanner, case, or other large item I have ever ordered over the past 6-8 years has been shipped in its original manufacurer's carton. Why should there be an exception made for one person? And if you think your situation is that bad, try ordering a Sony monitor and having it shipped UPS. I only had to go through (6) of them to get one to arrive in tact, and several others here at AT had the exact same problem with the same monitor, supplier, and shipper. But we didn't post ad naseum here about our woes.

Sorry, but this definitely belongs in the Brag and Moan thread in Hot Deals, if at all ...